Start from 42 curated places around Penticton, CA, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Elma
Turkish-leaning lakeside dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows on Okanagan Lake. The shareable meze and char-grilled mains are the move; tile and lantern detailing was sourced in Turkey.
Kin & Folk
Downtown Asian-fusion small plates with Korean, Japanese, and Chinese influences and a serious cocktail program. The room and drinks list make it Penticton's best modern date-night dinner away from the wineries.
Trails & outdoors
Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park
World-class climbing area in the hills behind Skaha Lake, with a trail network that hikers share with climbers heading to the crags. Loops range from 2 km strolls to a 9 km lake-and-valley viewpoint circuit.
Kettle Valley Rail Trail to Little Tunnel
Flat, scenic 9 km out-and-back along the old railway grade above the Naramata Bench, ending at a hand-cut 1915 tunnel with a 180-degree view down to Penticton and Summerland. The signature Penticton walk.
Things to do
Penticton Art Gallery
Compact community art gallery near Marina Way that rotates 20+ exhibitions a year from local, national, and international artists. Donation entry, a real gift shop, and the kind of program a town this size shouldn't have.
Many Hats Theatre Company
Penticton's resident theatre company since 2007, running 4-6 shows a year at the Cannery Stage. Comedies and musicals more than serious drama; most performances sell out, so book ahead.
Landmarks & sights
S.S. Sicamous Museum and Heritage Park
Canada's largest surviving sternwheeler, beached on the Penticton waterfront and turned into a maritime museum. The engine room, the pilothouse views, and the enormous Kettle Valley Railway model train downstairs make it more interesting than the exterior suggests.
Okanagan Lake Park
The kilometre-long sandy beach that anchors downtown Penticton, with shade trees, fire pits, the Kiwanis walking pier, and the SS Sicamous moored at the west end. Where the city actually swims, not just where it markets to tourists.